


Necessary Introductions

by Perpetual Motion (perpetfic)



Category: Law & Order: SVU
Genre: M/M, Mike Dodds Bingo, Reunion, and vice versa, kat tamin deserves to be friends with mike dodds
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-08
Updated: 2020-08-08
Packaged: 2021-03-05 21:07:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,548
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25791838
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/perpetfic/pseuds/Perpetual%20Motion
Summary: Kat meets Mike, who shows up very unexpectedly.
Relationships: Dominick "Sonny" Carisi Jr./Mike Dodds
Comments: 10
Kudos: 50
Collections: MIKE DODDS!!





	Necessary Introductions

"Okay, I'm going," Captain Benson says as she shuts her office door with the sort of decisive yank that reminds Kat of her mother closing the door on a messy room she simply refuses to deal with at that second. "Rollins is off-call, and Fin is out with John, so--"

"It may take him a little while to get back to me if I need something," Kat fills in. "If it's an emergency, I call you."

Captain Benson's surprised look slips into an amused smile. "I'm reminding you of your mother, aren't I?"

Kat shrugs. "Only a little. If you were saying it Arabic or French, then I'd be worried."

Captain Benson chuckles. "You are too kind. I know you know what to do, so I'll get out of here and let you do it."

"Tell Noah I said good luck on his dance recital," Kat says. "Or break a leg, I think?"

"I have been very seriously informed that it's break a leg."

"Well, then, break a leg," Kat says with a grin. She watches the Captain leave, then leans back in her desk chair, surveying the reports in front of her. She's not technically behind on her paperwork, but she's not absolutely up-to-date, either. It's been quiet all week--and Kat is well aware it's why she's being trusted to stay alone for the end of her shift--and she's not superstitious, but ever since the phone went off three times just before midnight, she doesn't want to risk anything that could cause a quiet night to change its mind. 

She's half an hour into her catching up when she hears the elevator ding. She can't see the elevator from her desk, so she stands and walks over to stand in view of the doors as they open. She mentally prepares for a victim or some higher up brass on the warpath for the Captain. When the doors open, there's a dark-haired man with oily hair and a ragged beard. He's wearing a hoodie that looks like it's held together from memory and a pair of jeans with holes ripped in the knees. 

Kat watches him walk into the squad, pausing in the doorway to look around like he's surprised to even be there. He looks like he's having trouble focusing, and when he steps forward again, he stumbles over his feet, though he manages to catch himself. 

"Hey," Kat says, loud enough to get his attention but not loud enough--she hopes--to spook him. "You need to talk to someone?" She keeps her body loose. Male victims can be especially jumpy to report, and she doesn't want him to think she's nervous. 

The man looks at her, and there's an itch in the back of Kat's brain. He looks familiar, but she can't place why. He's a huge guy, somewhere over six-two if Kat had to guess, and the hoodie is straining on his biceps. He blinks at Kat a few times, then rubs his hands in his eyes. 

"I'm looking for--" He cuts off, a huge yawn overtaking him. 

Kat takes a couple of steps forward. She's still unsure why the guy's here, but he's not giving off any dangerous vibes. He just seems very tired and worn out. She wonders if he was being held someplace or if he'd been drugged. "You want a chair?" she asks, pointing to the one next to her desk. 

The man nods as a second yawn escapes him. He shuffles to the chair and lowers himself down slowly, sighing in relief once he's seated. 

"Are you here to make a report?" Kat asks as she rounds her desk and takes her own seat. 

"Huh?" the guy asks. He sits up straight and looks around, more alert than before. "Wait." He looks at Kat again. "Special Victims?" He says. 

"Yeah," Kat replies, itching to get answers but knowing it's better to let the guy take his own time. "Manhattan Special Victims. Is this where you meant to show up?"

The guy sighs and rubs his eyes again. He looks down at his hands, then holds them up, pointing to his left-hand ring finger. "I need--" he taps his ring finger. "I've been up since Tuesday morning, and I said I'd meet--" he taps his ring finger again. 

"Spouse?" Kat guesses, even though the guy's not wearing a ring. 

"Yeah," the guy says. 

"And you were gonna meet them here?"

"He works here."

Kat's not sure if Fin and John are married, but she knows they're serious enough there's no way Fin has a surprise husband somewhere. Maybe it's someone on night shift? "What's his name?"

The guy yawns again, then slumps forward, seeming to fall into a doze. Kat takes a pencil off her desk and taps him lightly on the arm, just in case he flails at being touched. "Hey, man, who are you looking for?"

The guy snaps awake, though he's obviously exceedingly groggy. "Sonny," he says. "Sonny Carisi. He's--" 

"He's a prosecutor," Kat says. And as she says it, she realizes where she's seen this guy before. 

*

One of the first times Kat stops by Carisi's office to talk about a case, she notices a photo on Carisi's desk of him and another guy standing in their uniforms on what looks like their wedding day, both holding champagne flutes as they beam at each other in obvious delight and pleasure.

Carisi sees her looking at it and says, "Oh, that's Mike, my husband. He's with Joint Terrorism."

"You two are cute," Kat replies, pointing at the photo to get Carisi's permission to pick it up. The frame is silver, the wedding date inscribed at the bottom. "I don't think I've heard you mention him."

"Well, he's not my preferred topic of conversation when I'm coming to the squad to talk cases."

"Makes sense," Kat says, taking in the fact that Mike is taller and broader than Sonny. "How'd you meet?"

"He worked SVU for about a year. Took two bullets while he was there, and you'd think that's why he left, but it was actually so we could be open about our relationship and be able to give it the focus we wanted it to have." 

"That's nice." Kat puts the photo back on the desk and lets Carisi steer the conversation back to the case she's there to talk about.

*

"You're Mike," Kat says to Mike as he clearly tries not to nod off again. "I'll call Carisi. I'm sure he'll meet you here."

Mike makes a quiet sound of assent as Kat reaches for her desk phone and presses the speed dial for Carisi's direct line. 

"Carisi."

"Hey, it's Kat."

"I'm out the door in about thirty seconds. You better need something bad."

Kat snorts at the impatience in Carisi's tone. "Nah, I'm fine, but your husband wandered in over here and I'm pretty sure he's sleeping sitting up next to my desk."

"Mike's with you?" Carisi asks, and all the impatience is gone from his tone. He sounds excited now. "He went to the squad?"

"He says he's been up since Tuesday morning," Kat says.

"Fuck me," Carisi mutters. Kat can practically hear him doing the math in his head. It's late Wednesday afternoon. Mike's probably been up thirty-six hours on the inside. "Can you get him to the crib?"

Kat glances at Mike, who is unquestionably asleep now. She can hear very quiet snoring. "He's out cold," she says. "But I can keep an eye on him until you get here."

"I'll be quick," Carisi says. "I owe you one."

"He doesn't kick in his sleep or anything does he?"

Carisi chuckles, and Kat can hear the sounds of Carisi gathering up papers. "Nah, and he won't fall over, so don't worry about him busting his face."

"If he falls, I'm telling him you said he wouldn't."

"Fair. Should be there in fifteen."

"Sure," Kat says. "See you in a few." She hangs up the phone after Carisi says goodbye and gives Mike another look. He's still asleep, only the slightest sag to his shoulders and his tipped forward head giving him away. Kat considers taking a photo and sending it to Rollins. She'd probably find it funny. But Kat decides against it. Rollins would probably find it funny, but Kat doesn't even know Mike's last name, so it doesn't feel right to go through with it. She goes back to her reports. 

The elevator dings twelve minutes later, and Carisi comes walking into the squad with an extra-quick stride that makes Kat tired just watching it. 

"Hi," Carisi says to her with a nod. He places his briefcase on the empty desk next to Kat's, then reaches out and touches Mike's cheek. "Hey," he says quietly, then trails his fingers into Mike's hair. The way Carisi smiles as Mike stirs and leans into his touch makes Kat have a sudden longing for a long-term relationship she is absolutely not looking for right now. 

"Sonny," Mike says quietly. He's looking at Sonny like everything's just gotten better. "I was supposed to meet you at home," he says, looking around bleary-eyed. He pauses when he sees Kat. "Oh. Hi."

Kat grins. "Hi. Do you remember walking in here?"

Mike looks around and shakes his head slowly. "Last thing I remember…" He looks at Sonny again. "I was getting on the elevator in our building."

"Nope," Sonny says. "Kat called me fifteen minutes ago and said you were here. Guess you went on autopilot after you reported."

"I tried to sleep while they were finalizing everything," Mike says. 

"It's okay," Sonny says, and he leans down and kisses Mike warmly. He reaches into the pocket of his waistcoat and pulls out a ring, slipping it onto Mike's left ring finger in a way that tells Kat she's seeing a small moment they've definitely done more than once. "You need a cup of coffee?" he asks. 

Mike nods, eyes already closing again. Kat starts to stand to get it, but Sonny waves her off. "I've got it," he says. "It's kind of a tradition."

Kat sits back down. "Okay. Want me to keep him awake?"

"Yes, please." Sonny presses a kiss into Mike's hair, seemingly unconcerned that it's obviously gone unwashed for a few days. "Tell Kat where you've been," he says to Mike as he turns to walk to the break room.

"Undercover," Mike says as he opens his eyes. "The last couple of days, I never sleep all that well, and I used to just come straight here when I was done. Sonny'd always get me coffee so I could stay awake until we got home, and I could shower."

"Was this your first time undercover since he switched gigs?" Kat asks. 

"Uh-huh." Mike pauses for another of those enormous yawns. "He said he'd meet me at home, but they cut me early, so I figured I'd surprise him."

"Well, you did do that," Kat says. Mike's tired smile makes her smile as well. "You're in Joint Terrorism, right? Carisi mentioned it to me once."

"Yeah." Mike waves a hand at himself. "Former military. Former boxer. White. I'm useful for domestic terror investigations."

Kat nods. "Yeah, I can see that." She glances at Mike's hands. They're in good shape, no misshapen knuckles or slightly slanted fingers. "Got pretty hands for a boxer."

Mike laughs dryly. "Had a lot of good luck," he says. He stares at his hands a moment too long, then looks at Kat again. "You box, right? Sonny went to one of your matches."

"Yeah, I do. Got fucking owned in that match, unfortunately."

"Hey, we all lose sometimes," Mike says. "You wanting to go pro?"

"Nah. I'm sort of thinking of ramping up to try for Golden Gloves, but I haven't decided."

"Hey, I did that," Mike says, and his smile gets shockingly bright from the tired, content one it has been. "Won, too. If you decide you wanna go for it, I'm happy to help out. Or if you ever want to talk boxing in detail, I'm up for that."

"I'll keep that in mind," Kat replies, feeling her own smile widen. Sonny walks back up to her desk then and gives her a quick nod of thanks.

"Here," Sonny says, holding out a styrofoam cup to Mike. "I warmed it up, so it should taste extra awful."

"You know how I like it," Mike replies, taking the cup. He reaches for Sonny's hand and brings it up to his mouth, pressing a kiss to the back. Kat somehow does and doesn't feel like she's intruding on a private moment. "Thanks for coming to get me," Mike says, looking up at Sonny. 

"Thanks for making it home," Sonny replies. 

And now Kat definitely feels like she's intruding, but there's no way to escape. She simply sits quietly and hopes they don't remember she's there. 

"Kat's thinking of going for Golden Gloves," Mike says, breaking the intimate mood by inviting Kat back into the conversation. He takes a long drink of his rewarmed coffee and grimaces at the taste. "I was telling her I'd help her out."

"Be careful," Sonny tells Kat, his smile so fond Kat gets another pang for a long-term romantic partner. Just to have someone look like that when they talk about her. "He'll go full Rocky on you and try to get you to eat raw eggs."

"He's lying. I dressed up as Rocky for Halloween and drank a glass of raw eggs on a dare."

"I'm not sure if that's better or worse," Kat says. 

Mike chuckles and finishes his coffee in a gulp, standing as he does so. "Okay, let's get moving before my body figures out I tricked it." He tosses the cup into a trash can next to an empty desk and gives Kat another smile. "Good to meet you, finally. Sonny says you've got a good head on your shoulders."

Kat can't hide her surprise at that. She doesn't dislike Carisi, but it's not like they're close. "Really?"

"I also said I prefer it there than shoved up your ass," Carisi says, but there's a teasing slant to his mouth that makes Kat roll her eyes like she would at her siblings. 

"Yeah, well, takes one to know one," she replies, and she feels like she's won a point when Carisi chuckles and nods while Mike grins and leans against him. "Get him out of here before we have to find out how hard it is to lift him off the floor," she says, gesturing to Mike. 

"Have a good evening, Detective," Mike says. 

Kat opens her mouth to correct him, but Sonny speaks before she can. "Good night, Detective." The smile on his face now isn't teasing at all. It's sincere, happy, and appreciative.

"Night, Counselor. Mike," Kat replies and watches them leave, arms around each other. She leans back in her chair and has a hard stretch. She's got another half hour before she can clock out, and she's lost all interest in her reports. She wakes up her computer and types 'Golden Gloves Mike,' then clicks 'image search' to see what she can see. 

She's a detective after all, at least for the moment.

**Author's Note:**

> By the way, about two minutes after this fic ends, Kat discovers that Mike is Chief Dodds's son and screams.
> 
> Thank you, M, for the beta!


End file.
